Carey to Mellencamp: Louisville is about to have an insane music week

If there was ever any doubt that Louisville was a music and entertainment town, this week absolutely smashes that notion.

In the span of four days, you can see a handful of musical greats that appeal to pretty much everyone. Seriously, the range is insane, and if you're a music or comedy lover, you could spend each day seeing someone else on your entertainment bucket list. We're talking acts like Metallica and John Mellencamp — and that's just on Saturday.

Once you've had your fill of extravagant dresses and glitter galore, pop on over to the Mercury Ballroom on Thursday evening to see comedian Jim Breuer Live. Breuer, who may be best known for his stint on "Saturday Night Live" and his starring role opposite Dave Chappelle in the stoner classic "Half Baked," is in town on both his solo tour and as the opening act for Metallica, who appear at the KFC Yum Center on Saturday. (We'll get to that in a minute!)

An avid baseball fan, Breuer told Courier Journal he was most excited to come back to Louisville and head to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. He also said his iconic "Goat Boy" character from SNL would definitely beat the Pope Lick Monster in a battle. (We're not so sure but see what he said here.)

Take a stretch break, then head to the KFC Yum Center on Friday to see Weezer and the Pixies. Weezer, a '90s alt-rock band that first surged onto the music scene with the "Blue Album" and earworm tunes like "Undone — The Sweater Song" and "My Name is Jonas," is having a resurgence with its most recent album and is again getting air time on Top 40 radio with a not-half-bad cover of Toto's iconic "Africa."

(Don't miss opening act the Pixies, sure to put on a good show for any '90s-rock nostalgia fan who loves a good almost-a-hit song like "Here Comes Your Man" and "Letter to Memphis.")

For those of you who don't know, Shlesinger is touring the U.S. with her "Elder Millennial" show, her fourth comedy special on Netflix. Shlesinger, who swings by the Brown Theatre, embodies perhaps the most basic of all millennials, but her routine is fresh and funny and she's hilariously self-deprecating.

If heavy metal is more your speed, head over to the KFC Yum Center for the aforementioned show by Metallica, opened by Breuer. The purveyors of face-melting riffs bring their WorldWired Tour to Louisville, and if you're a 30-to-40-something white guy who likes cold American beer, you probably don't want to miss this show. Metallica is truly an everyman's metal band. Seriously, don't tell me you've never rocked out to "Enter Sandman."

If that wasn't enough, you could go truly classic rock and head to the Louisville Palace for a night with John Mellencamp, who has more catchy, genuinely good hits than is probably fair to other musicians. "Hurt So Good," "Pink Houses," "Lonely Ol' Night," "Jack and Diane," "I Need a Lover," "R.O.C.K in the USA," and "Wild Night" are just a handful of songs I could sing on cue off the top of my head, but I'm tired just listing all those. This concert will be one for the record books.

All of this could shape up to be an incredible music week, but be warned. If you didn't know any of these acts were in town before this, you might be a little too late to grab tickets that aren't overpriced on the secondary market. But it's worth a shot. Check out all the details on how to snag tickets below.

Jim Breuer: THURSDAY, March 7

Weezer and Pixes: FRIDAY, March 8

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Liz Moughon/Courier-Journal
Rivers Cuomo, lead singer of the band Weezer, took a ride on one of the bikes in Louisville's LouVelo bike share program on Sunday night at Forecastle.
Weezer closed out Forecastle 2017.(Photo: Liz Moughon/Courier Journal )